After their brush with Andrew Luck last night, the Giants no doubt came away grateful for a couple of things:

1. The game didn’t count.

2. Luck plays in the AFC.

Big Blue already has Robert Griffin III on their schedule twice a year, and the prospect of having to do the same with the quarterback taken one spot ahead of Griffin last year didn’t look the least bit appetizing after last night’s 20-12 preseason loss to the Colts at MetLife Stadium.

Luck, the No. 1 overall choice in 2012, picked up right where he left off from his record-setting rookie year by manhandling the Giants’ No. 1 unit with his arm and even showing them up with his legs on a 14-yard scramble.

Luck completed nine of his 13 passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns in just four series before handing a 17-3 lead to veteran backup Matt Hasselbeck midway through the second quarter.

“The Giants are a great team, and it was tough sledding at times, but I thought we did a nice job,” Luck said.

If the Giants did indeed give the Luck and Indianapolis’ starting defense a tough time, it wasn’t visible to the naked eye. Tom Coughlin’s team didn’t game-plan, of course, and their secondary was missing safety Antrel Rolle and cornerback Corey Webster due to health issues. Luck also noted after the game the Giants frequently stacked the box with an eighth defender to stop the run.

But that only put a slight damper on Luck’s impressive handiwork.

“When Luck is throwing the ball how he was throwing it tonight, we can’t be stopped,” said second-year Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton, whose 18-yard TD grab early in the second quarter was Luck’s second of the night. “Having a quarterback like that is something [receivers] dream of.”

If you’re wondering how the Colts went from 2-14 the year before Luck arrived and 11-5 in his rookie season, the celebrated Stanford product showed why.

Even one of Luck’s worst passes of the night ended up going his way, as Giants cornerback Aaron Ross bobbled an underthrown pass right in his hands up in the air and into the hands of Indianapolis’ Reggie Wayne.

Wayne happened to be in the end zone at the time, and the result was an 28-yard TD pass and a 7-3 Colts lead on a play that should have been an interception.

Wayne used to be one of Peyton Manning’s favorite targets in Indy, so he knows about franchise quarterbacks. Last night was further evidence the Colts are still in good hands in the post-Manning era.

“He’s going to be even better than last year,” Hilton predicted for Luck. “He’s improved his arm strength, his accuracy and his ability to read defenses. From where he left off, he’s on a rocket to the sky right now.”